In a profile with Time declaring
Obama its “person of the year,” the president took partial credit
for the progress made on LGBT issues in the past 4 years.

“One of the things that I'm very
proud of during my first four years is I think I've helped to
solidify this incredibly rapid transformation in people's attitudes
around LGBT issues – how we think about gays and lesbians and
transgender persons,” Obama said. “A lot of that just has to do
with the fact that if you talk to Malia [Obama], the idea of making
an anti-gay remark at her school is just unimaginable. They just
don't get that.”

“For all the divisions that you read
about in our politics – and many of them are real and powerful –
the truth is, is that we have steadily become a more diverse and
tolerant country that embraces people's differences, and respects
people who are not like us. And that's a profoundly good thing.
That's one of the strengths of America. It was hard-fought. And
there's been the occasional backlash, and this is not to argue that
somehow racism or sexism or homophobia are going to be eliminated or
ever will be eliminated. It is to argue that our norms have changed
in a way that prizes inclusion more than exclusion.”

“And I do think that my eight years
as President, reflecting those values and giving voice to those
values, helps to validate or solidify that transformation, and I
think that's a good thing for the country.”